Container holders have become a universal accessory in vehicles where they are frequently mounted in armrests between the front and rear seats, are retractably mounted from the instrument panel for access, or are mounted in a center console. They also have become a common accessory for use in lounge chairs or sofas, particularly those used for home theaters and other large comfortable seats with sufficiently wide arms to accommodate such container holders.
Consumers enjoy a variety of beverages during their daily activities, including cylindrical cans for holding soda pop and other beverages, generally tapered cylindrical cups for hot or cold beverages, and frequently coffee cups or other mugs with handles extending from the cylindrical side walls. Most container holders accommodate cylindrical containers, such as cans and glassware, and include variable diameter spring-loaded fingers which will also accommodate generally cylindrical tapered containers of varying diameters. They typically do not, however, include a cutout or notch for accommodating an outwardly extending handle of, for example, a coffee mug or other beverage container which includes a handle-like extension. Further, in the rare cases where a container holder does include a cutout, it does not support a generally cylindrical or tapered cylindrical container as well as a standard cylindrical container holder.
Accordingly, there is a need for a container holder which provides adequate support for cylindrical and tapered cylindrical containers as well as accommodate cups or mugs with outwardly extending handles and adequately support both such designs while providing ease of use by the consumer.